In 2020, a small community of the Bataan province in the Philippines built a hatchery to protect the nests of the endangered pawikan (sea turtles) that came to lay eggs on the beach. To support the conservation efforts, you can too donate a small amount of money to “adopt” a nest and help the community protect those eggs until they reach maturity!
Each year since then, my blogger friends Markus and Micah raise awareness for this cause, encouraging people to adopt a pawikan nest to save the baby turtles and empower the community.

Credit: all the pictures from this post are from Markus and Micah
Adopting a nest allows the members of the community to save the eggs, which are then kept in a hatchery to protect them from wild animals, poachers, tides and erosion. This way, the eggs are nursed until they hatch, and the baby turtles are then released to the sea. There are different species of turtles and, this year, even the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles laid their eggs in the area and were released to the sea by volunteers!
Thanks to the donations, the hatchery has been able to save thousands of baby turtles and is now also registered as an NGO in the Philippines! The donations not only help protect the turtles, but also provide a livelihood for the volunteers of this community
How does it work?

If you adopt a nest, you’ll have an “assigned” one named after you and receive all the documentation: your marker with information on the nest such as the number of eggs inside, date and time it was laid, location, and who helped the mother give birth. Then, you’ll also get pictures when the eggs hatch and the baby turtles run to the sea – which is the cutest thing ever!
Adopting one nest only costs 10$, and the whole amount of your donation goes directly towards the protection of the eggs, and the hatchery is entirely run by volunteers.
How can you donate?
For the donation, you can either visit the hatchery’s Instagram page and find the link to donate the money, or send the donation via Paypal from one of Markus and Micah’s posts, which is what I did as it seemed easier to me.
Useful links
Instagram page of the hatchery
– Facebook page of the hatchery
– Markus and Micah’s post with a Paypal link
Each year, more and more nests are protected thanks to the increasing number of volunteers.
Join the cause right now!
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It’s a great cause and as you say the picture is so cute.
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Yes, I loved those pictures! One day I’d love to experience this in person too!
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Aproffitto di questo post per augurarti un 2023 all’altezza della tua solaritá!!! Un abbraccio fortissimo. Giuseppe
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Grazie mille Giuseppe! Tantissimi auguri di buon anno anche a te!
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great cause indeed
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Thanks! Don’t hesitate to support it if you can!
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How incredible, what a wonderful cause!
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It was really worth the donation to see those super cute turtle run back to the sea!
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Totally, they’re so adorable!
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What a great cause! Those turtles sure are adorable.
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They are, aren’t they? Thanks for reading!
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A great cause worth contributing to! Baby sea turtles are adorable, and it’s great your blogger friends are helping to save them all. 🙂
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Yes, don’t hesitate to support them as well if you can!
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I love that this charity is thriving and helping the darling babies survive. Great cause, thanks for sharing!
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Yes! It’s also great that it is quite a small-scale charity and it really helps the community! Thanks for reading!
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The sea turtles are adorable. What a great cause!
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Yes, my heart was really melting when I received those pictures! I loved supporting a small organisation too!
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I loved this post, Juliette, such a worthy cause! That shot of the babies going back into the sea is wonderful and brilliantly timed, as the waves begin to swallow them up. Coincidentally, I recently finished a post featuring a sea turtle sanctuary visit on Tioman Island in Malaysia. It’ll be published on the 25th. Hope your 2023 is going well!
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Yes, those pictures that Micah sent me are beautiful! I’m looking forward to reading about the sea turtle sanctuary!
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what a wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you!
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I absolutely love this so much!! I love that the entire donation goes towards helping the nest and not just some. This is so great, thank you for raising awareness to this incredible cause.
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A very good cause, Juliette – and they are so adorable!
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This is a cool initiative and also an excellent excuse to plan a visit to the Philippines to visit those little turtles! 😀
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That’s also exactly what I thought! Maybe in 2024 😛
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This is a great initiative.
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Thanks!
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